COLORADO SPRINGS — Economists say that data shows that inflation is slowing and cooling down, but that does not mean prices are going down at the grocery store or gas station right away. It also means consumers aren’t seeing much relief in their wallets.
For example, the Federal Feserve says that the inflation rate has been cut in half since this time last year. However, according to Gas Buddy, gas prices have gone up around 12 cents in the past month in Colorado Springs, and local drivers are not seeing a drop in prices at the pump.
“Gas, it definitely adds up, and it shows in in the bank account from month to month,” said Alex Bonaire, a Colorado Springs resident.
“Gas prices are still insanely high, close to four dollars a gallon,” said Jake Frankmore, another Colorado Springs resident.
While gas prices remain high, local economists say inflation has been gradually decreasing since its peak last year around 9%. Now, inflation is closer to 3-4%.
It sounds like good news, but here's the catch: prices are still rising, just not as quickly as they were before.
“When I look at the data, it really does look a lot better, and I feel pretty confident that we're on the right track with getting inflation down,” said Dr. Bill Craighead, the director of the UCCS Economic Forum. “But you know, inflation really hit people hard. It was really affected their standards of living."
Dr. Craighead says people are still reeling from last year's record inflation.
“It takes us a while to process it, that those negative feelings linger with us for a while. So while the data look good, I think it is going to take time for people to start to really feel better about it.”
Dr. Craighead also said rent prices have been stable the past few months, and he believes the economy is on the right track. Others however are still waiting to see relief.
“They may say that inflation is slowing down, but we haven't seen the impacts yet,” said Frankmore. “The consumer hasn't seen the impacts of it slowing down yet, I don't think at all.”
Local economists also say they believe the economy will see ‘soft landing.' That means inflation should continue to come down without necessarily going into a recession.
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